Greyscale
by Sano Sauro
Summary: The Equinox Corporation are the overseers, arbiters, and guardians of humanity's interests in space. When other humans are discovered on another world, they require information. They discover these humans have guardians as well: Hunters. However, they will need access the Hunter Database to learn more. Only Hunters can access it, so one of humanity's finest is sent to become one.
1. Chapter 1

The elevator clattered as two men stared across from each other. Neither of them would be classified as "normal-looking." One of them was clad in the outfit of a jester, while the other seemed to take on the look of a futuristic warrior. As they descended, the jester slowly licked his lips. In response, the Greyscale slowly reached up and removed his helmet to reveal a shockingly pale, angular face; with short black hair, cold blue eyes, and seemingly perfect teeth. He tucked the helmet beneath his arm, but he never broke eye contact with the dangerous clown.

The "clown" in question had yellow eyes, pink hair, and a face just as ghostly white as the Greyscale's. He was the picture of mocking adoration, with a smile that spoke volumes. Under the watchful eye of his companion, he pulled out a deck of cards and gave an innocent smile.

"Care for a game of cards?" He asked, though it was clear it wasn't actually a request. If he was turned down, he wouldn't be happy. The Greyscale placed his helmet on the table and took a seat, one hand resting lazily on his sidearm.

"Blackjack, Kami rules. First to 21 wins, first over 21 loses; whichever comes first. No stands." He recited the rules from memory; he'd played this game several times with outsiders who weren't familiar with Kami's rules. "I'll deal first." The jester slid the deck over to him and sat down in a nearby chair, calmly watching as the Greyscale shuffled surprisingly well, considering the armored fingertips. Suddenly, a card shot across the table towards him. If the jester had been too slow, it would have slid off the table. He wasn't, and he flipped it over to see an ace of spades. He looked up to the Greyscale.

"What are Kami's rules on aces?" The Greyscale didn't look up as he dealt himself a card; eight of hearts.

"Standard Earth rules; ace can be one or eleven." Another card shot across the table; a four of diamonds. The dealer pulled a nine of clubs, the jester received a two of clubs, the Greyscale was dealt a jack of hearts, and the table was swept. Before the deck's owner could deal a hand, however, the elevator ground to a halt. The doors opened to reveal a large underground room. The room was dark, in contrast to the brightly-lit elevator, and there were only about fifty people in the room. The Greyscale pulled the discarded cards into the deck and shuffled it quickly before handing it back to the jester, who silently accepted it and put it back in his pocket. The two rose and exited the elevator, and as the Greyscale returned his helmet to its proper place on his head, a short, green entity in a business suit came walking towards them.

"Please take a badge." He said, handing one to the jester and another to the Greyscale. The jester pinned his onto his chest, but the Greyscale couldn't puncture his vacuum-sealed suit. So, he took a roll of super-heavy double-sided adhesive strips, cut off four strips, and taped the badge to his chest. To test, he activated his shields; they flowed smoothly around the badge. Suddenly, he felt a hand slapping his shoulder. He turned around, expecting to see the jester, but instead he saw a short, fat man holding a can of something.

"Hey, buddy!" The man said, cheerfully. "I can see you're new to the Hunter Exam!" The Greyscale narrowed his eyes inside his helmet; the only person who'd been this cheerful so far was the one who had handed him the badge. "My name's Tonpa; I'm something of an expert at the Hunter Exam. I've actually taken it several times." The Greyscale looked down at the unmarked can, and Tonpa followed his eyes. When he realized he was looking at the can, he smiled. "Oh, are you thirsty? I bring cans of juice for the rookies." He held it up to the Greyscale, who took it silently. Tonpa, smiling even wider, waited for him to drink it. The Greyscale shook his head and put it in his backpack.

"I'll save this for when I need it. Thank you." He said, turning and walking back towards the jester, who was shuffling the deck of cards in his hand. The jester looked up and smiled, though it was a clearly a bit more mocking than it had been before. It was clear he looked down on him now, though for what he had no idea aside from something to do with Tonpa. Which probably meant it had something to do with him either talking to Tonpa in the first place or accepting the can of juice from him.

"It's my turn to deal, right?" The jester said, his voice dripping with superiority. The Greyscale nodded, and when a card shot out of the jester's hands towards him, he was ready.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello!" A loud voice, sounding like that of a young child, broke both of them off from their game. They had shifted from KamiJack to the jester's own version of "War," a card game where each card's face would determine its value, and the more valuable the card, the more likely it was to win. A king beat a queen, a queen beat a jack, and so on. That was the standard version, anyways; the custom version was stranger, with 7 being the strongest card and ace and king being tied for the weakest. This often forced more ties, and as a result, more risky matchups.

The Greyscale had won two rounds of War, but the jester had won the same amount and was well on his way to winning a third when they had been interrupted. Now that their concentration had been broken, the jester had realized what time it was. He

"We are about to begin." He said, voice much more neutral than it had been hours earlier. He held out a hand and the Greyscale put his cards inside of it. The jester slipped the cards into his deck and shuffled them before sliding them into his pocket. The Greyscale stood up and leaned against the wall while the jester walked off into the crowd of people that seemed to be nearing five hundred people. As he watched the jester go, he noticed someone bump into him. The jester stopped and turned towards him, and after a second, walked after him, and he lost him in the crowd. A moment later, however, a cry rang out, and people began crowding around an area where a small trail of flowers was floating up into the air. An unmistakeable voice could be heard over the person's whimpering.

"Oh my, it appears his arms have turned to flowers. No smoke and mirrors here. When you bump into someone, you really should apologize." With that, the jester walked off. The Greyscale caught a few whispers from the crowd; a word they kept repeating was "Hisoka."

So that was his name. Hisoka.

* * *

The room had been shaped like a hangar; with the semi-cylindrical concrete and steel walls and the two flat, semicircular ends. The elevator was the only way in or out that he saw; at least until the other wall rumbled open to reveal a man in a suit. He was a tall, thin man, with a pale complexion and a very thin, dark handlebar mustache. His pale purple hair ran down the side of his head. His tie, a bright red, seemed to have been torn on the end. Ordinarily, over the noise of the crowd, it would have been difficult to hear him. However, everyone had quieted at the sound of the door opening combined with the ringing of an alarm.

The man introduced himself as Satotz; he would be the Phase One examiner. After everyone accepted obligatory oral contractual agreement that "the exam is dangerous, back out now if you aren't ready to accept the dangers" and, as was unspoken, the Hunter Association was financially absolved of anything relating to the injury or death of participants, the examiner turned around and began walking down the enormous passageway. As he, along with the other examinees, did as they were instructed, the pace began to steadily increase. They went from a walk, to a stride, to a jog, to nearly a sprint.

* * *

He had been running for well over an hour. In front of him was nothing, behind him were miles and miles of tunnel. The tunnel had been an old mineshaft that had been expanded and supported for the purposes of the test. Hisoka was a little ways ahead of him, and the Phase One instructor a little ways in front of Hisoka. Several had dropped, several more had slowed, and by now, the front pack only contained around sixty people. The test was far from difficult, thus far; a 40 kilometer jog on flat ground was an everyday occurrence for him.

He heard grumblings and groaning up ahead and looked up. There, ahead of him, was a seemingly infinite staircase. This he could understand; staircases were more difficult to run up. Beyond the extra effort needed to lift one's legs higher, a single misstep, set on by fatigue or just plain old bad luck, could cause serious injury. Indeed, a loud crack resounded from behind him as someone's foot caught on a step and their head smacked against the stair.

As he ran, he reviewed his mission objective: Pass the Hunter Exam, pass along information from within the Hunter Archives, and continue to remain on the planet, ready to respond at a moment's notice. The planet was of very little political importance to the wider galaxy, but to the Equinox Corporation, discovery of other humans was huge.


End file.
